


The Longest Nights

by valisi



Series: Vespers [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 19:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7476678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valisi/pseuds/valisi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Isabel and Furlan did not come home from their first mission, Levi attempts to cope. Erwin tries to build a new bond with Levi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Longest Nights

**Author's Note:**

> Rated teen for Levi's language and Erwin's tobacco use.

As they rode their horses through the gate of wall Maria, Levi focused intently on Erwin's back. He didn't know that so many people would surround them to greet their return. The villagers were calling out the names of their sons and daughters. Levi drowned out the noise and only thought of two things. He felt the horse's hair under his hands, and he stared at Erwin's back. 

Erwin watched the faces of the strangers surrounding him. He felt like part of his job was to maintain emotional distance. His Commander did not agree. Commander Shadis had been hurting humanity's morale for a while now. He was typically overcome with grief when they returned from a mission, even if the mission was considered a success, and would upset the families that were already shocked and angry. Commander Shadis could not control his tears and distress once they entered the gates. 

Erwin turned his head to look at Levi behind him. Levi's body language seemed very aware, but his face was completely neutral. His eyes were distant, and he seemed to be completely removed. 

Levi learned in the Underground that there were many things that could be ignored. Levi could ignore everything except for his horse and Erwin. Erwin's body language was relaxed and calm. As long as Erwin remained calm, Levi could continue focusing on getting back into the barracks. If the horse tensed, then that would be even more of an indicator that Levi should pay more attention to his surroundings. 

There were a lot of upset people in a small space, and Levi was concerned that they would riot. He was told that civilians would not riot against the military, but he wasn't sure. He felt like they had a good reason to be angry. If civilians ever did attempt to attack the Survey Corps, they were instructed to continue their march as far as possible, and to wait on Military Police to intervene. 

Erwin remained calm. The horse continued to walk with a gentle rhythm. Levi did not lose focus until Erwin stopped moving. 

Erwin dismounted his horse, and Levi looked around. He had followed Erwin all the way back to the officers' quarters. He had passed the barracks and the stables. 

“Do they have good tea at the barracks, Levi?” Erwin adjusted his uniform, and a soldier took the reigns of Erwin's horse. “Take Levi's horse too, private. They both need water and rest,” Erwin told the soldier.

“I need to go back to the barracks,” Levi said. Erwin looked to the soldier handling his horse.

“Soldier!”

“Yes, sir!” The soldier handling Erwin's horse saluted. 

“Isabel Magnolia and Furlan Church both have beds and personal affects in the barracks. You and another female soldier of your choosing are to stand by their respective areas until Levi returns. No one is to touch anything in that area except for Levi. Do you understand me?” 

“Yes, sir!” 

Erwin looked up at Levi and locked eyes with him.

“I have good tea, Levi. Let's go.” Levi sighed heavily. 

Levi dismounted his horse. He handed the reigns to the private and memorized his face. 

“What's your name?” 

“Flaxman. I'm Alexander Flaxman.” 

“What will Erwin do if you fail his orders, Flaxman?” 

The soldier didn't say anything at first, but he did look Levi from head to toe very quickly. 

“You're the one who killed the Titans today?” Levi didn't respond. Word traveled quickly. “I would never fail Squad Leader Erwin,sir,” Flaxman said. Levi nodded and followed Erwin. 

They wiped off their feet, and stepped inside. Levi looked around, and was surprised that everything was rather bare. He expected that there would be more decoration in the officers' quarters, but it was as simple as the rest of the headquarters. It was cleaner than the barracks, but Levi saw a few cobwebs in the high corners. 

“Levi,” Erwin said. “My room is on the top floor, the last door on the right. I'm going to go get a hot kettle from the kitchen.” He walked one way, and Levi walked the other. 

Levi opened the door to Erwin's room, and it was equally bare. There was one comfortable chair, a table, one nightstand, a bed, and a wardrobe. There was also a bookcase filled with books. The fireplace was surprisingly tidy even though it was obviously used frequently. Levi inspected the floor, and decided it wasn't swept or mopped very often but wasn't dingy. He crossed the room and opened the window. It opened out instead of up, and Levi thought they should have made more windows like that. They're so much easier to clean. Early spring was warming up, and Levi was glad. He didn't like the cold. 

“Thank you,” Erwin entered the room with the tray for tea, and closed the door with his foot. “You can have the chair. I'm going to smoke.” He set the tea tray on the table first, and began taking off this 3DMG. “There are tea tins on the top shelf of the wardrobe. I don't have a preference for what we have. You can choose.” 

Levi walked to the wardrobe, opened it, and read the four tea tins Erwin had. He chose an uncommon black tea. It wasn't the most expensive tea that Erwin had, but wasn't the cheapest. Levi shut the wardrobe and returned to the table to prepare the tea. 

Erwin removed his 3DMG, and sat it down gently next to the window. He took off his cape and threw it on the bed. Erwin picked up his cigarette tin from the windowsill and sat down. He struck a match and lit his cigarette. 

Erwin watched Levi meticulously measure out the leaves and time the steeping. He knew the tea would taste much better than it did when he made it himself. 

After he poured two cups, Levi handed Erwin a cup. Levi removed his 3DMG and draped his cape over the back of the chair. He sat down and adjusted in the chair. It was obviously for a much taller man, but his feet didn't hang from the floor. He just had to sit a little more forward in it than he usually would have. 

“This is good,” Erwin said after he tasted the tea. Levi smelled of the tea. It was a flowery, sweet aroma. Naturally sweet teas were his favorite. Sugar would have ruined it even if they had any. 

“Do you smoke, Levi?” 

“No.” Levi took an exploratory sip of his tea, and he closed his eyes. It was delicious. It tasted so much better than what he had recently. Isabel would have loved it. “Where is everyone?” 

“Most will be out eating and drinking for another two hours. And then they'll sleep.” Erwin dragged on his cigarette. 

“There's 48 hours until we have to go back to work?” 

“Yes.” 

“That's seems like a long time.” 

“I'll be in meetings tomorrow. Officers don't take a full 48.” Erwin flicked the ash from his cigarette out of the window. “I would suggest that you take the full 48 hours though.” 

“Why?” 

“To do whatever you want. There will come a day when you are in meetings directly after a mission too. The longer you stay here, the less personal time you will have.” Levi nodded. 

“Tea was a good idea,” Levi said and drank some more. 

“I was surprised you followed me all the way here. Did the Underground teach you how to partition your mind?” 

Levi nodded. 

“I was very impressed that you were able to completely ignore everyone.” 

“I've ignored a lot of people in my life.” 

“And you give so much attention to those whom you choose to acknowledge.” Erwin looked at Levi in the eye for the first time since they had been in the room together. Levi glared up at him. 

“I could push you out of that window, and they would never find me,” Levi went back to his tea. Erwin shook his head and smiled. 

“You're right.” They sat in silence and drank their tea slowly. When Levi's cup was empty he sat it down, and he stood and began putting on his gear. 

“I'm going.” 

“The sun is setting,” Erwin said. He stood from the window sill. “If you're hungry, there won't be so many people at the mess hall now.” 

“Let me know if you need help with anything tomorrow,” Levi said. He turned and left the room. 

Levi began his walk back to the barracks. He looked straight ahead with his head held up. People died in the Underground all of the time. He had been abandoned before. He could live alone again. 

He walked to the female barracks first. All of the women eyeballed him suspiciously, but he didn't look at them. He walked straight to Isabel's bunk. A young woman was standing there next to it. She acknowledged him with a nod.

Levi approached the bunk, and removed Isabel's pillow case from her pillow. 

“Take the rest of the these linens to the laundry area,” Levi told the soldier.

“Yes, sir!” She gently stripped the bed. Levi knelt in front of Isabel's foot locker and opened it. Isabel's civilian clothes were very neatly folded into a single square. They were tied vertically and horizontally with string. 

“Good girl,” Levi thought. It had taken a annoying amount of time to teach Isabel to keep all of her possessions in a stack like that. He lifted the bundle by the string and put it in the pillow case. He left the female barracks and avoided eye contact with any other soldiers.

On his way to the male barracks, he felt his mood sink more. The weight of the pillow case and its contents were all he had left of her. 

The male barracks were much louder than the female barracks. A large group of men stood in the common area discussing the expedition with those who hadn't gone outside of the walls.

“Levi!” one yelled. “It's Levi!” 

“The titan killer?” 

He stared straight ahead, and ignored all of their cheers. One of them almost approached him, but another soldier held him back. 

“Not now, Gerald,” he said. Levi entered the hall that led to all of the bunk rooms. He squeezed the top of the pillow case in his hand. When he turned the corner to the bunk room were he and Furlan slept, Flaxman smiled. The room was completely empty except for Flaxman. Most of the soldiers were still out drinking. For the ones that didn't go on the mission, shift change would happen soon. Flaxman stood proudly in front of Furlan's bunk. He came to attention and saluted. Levi didn't correct him.

Levi looked at Furlan's bunk. Perfectly made. 

“I'm taking this bunk. Consider mine open,” Levi said. 

“You would have to get that cleared with your Squad Leader,” Flaxman protested softly. 

“It's fine,” Levi said. “Take my old linens to the laundry.” 

“Yes, sir!” The young soldier quickly removed Levi's bedsheets. Levi opened his foot locker, and took his civilian clothes out. 

“Also, take these to the trash,” Levi dropped his civilian clothes on top of the pile of sheets that Alexander was holding. He opened Furlan's locker. Furlan also had his clothes neatly folded and tied. 

“Am I free to go, sir?” 

“Yes,” Levi said without looking up. He took Isabel's clothes out of the pillow case and placed them carefully next to Furlan's. Levi then carefully folded the pillow case, and put it in the corner of the locker. 

“I'm sorry,” Flaxman said quietly. Levi looked up at him. 

“You did your job.” 

“No, Flaxman stopped for a moment. “I mean, I'm sorry about your friends.” Levi looked down into the locker. Flaxman turned and walked away. Levi stood and removed his 3DMG. He slid it far under the bed and against the wall with his boot. He had forgotten to deposit it, and it would have to wait. Levi sat down and took his boots off. He then knelt in front of the locker and carefully untied the stack of Isabel's clothing. He removed her shirt from the stack and draped it over his shoulder. Carefully he rearranged the folded stack, but did not tie it.

He closed the locker, stood, and slipped under the covers. He rolled over and faced the wall. Furlan's scent was still on the pillow case under his head. Levi buried his face in the pillow and inhaled deeply. He held Isabel's shirt close to his chest. He knew that the shirt had been laundered, but the softness of the fabric comforted him. He turned his head and stared down at her little orange shirt. He held it up to his nose. Tears began to roll out of his eyes. He closed his eyelids tightly, and tried to remember everything about them. He remembered how they all met, their eye colors, their favorite foods. He tried to remember everything. He remembered their laughs. 

“I still believe in you,” he whispered into the shirt. “I'll never regret showing both of you the sunlight.” More tears ran down his face. He sniffled and wiped his face with the back of his hand. “We're going to keep going. We'll kill every titan we see.” He inhaled deeply and relaxed. He stuffed Isabel's shirt under his pillow, and held onto it there. No one would see it, but he could feel it. He steadied his breathing, and focused only on his lungs expanding and contracting. He fell asleep quickly. 

When Levi woke up, it was darker in the bunk room. There was enough moonlight from the windows for him to see fairly well. He sat up in bed and looked around. All of the bunks were filled. He had slept through shift change. He rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe he had slept so long. He felt very hungry too. 

He got out of bed and stood. He stretched, and he put on his boots. When he was dressed, he reached under his pillow and took Isabel's shirt. He carefully folded it and put it back in his foot locker. As quietly as he could, he then pulled his 3DMG out from under his bed. The quietest way to carry it was to wear it. He carefully strapped all of his belts. He would put his gear in the armory, and then he would find food. 

He only heard a few bodies stir was he walked past the bunks. He passed one bunk, and saw two bodies in the bottom bed. He stopped. Two men were entangled with each other face to face. They slept soundly, and one was smiling in his sleep. Levi's eyes widened. Were they drunk? He looked around for an empty bunk, and couldn't find one. One of them must be from another bunk room.  
So one had purposely come to this bunk room to get in this bed with the other one. Levi walked out of the bunk room, and began to wonder about the policies of relationships between soldiers. Obviously fraternization was illegal, but those two men were the same rank.

He had been told that same sex couples were very taboo on the surface though. Actually, he remembered that Furlan had told he and Isabel that. They were all surprised. In the Underground, there were no laws about who could be married. In fact, many people did not marry in the Underground. They just began a relationship and moved in together. Levi and Furlan couldn't decide why the government would care. It was Isabel who decided that they cared about the population increase.

Levi walked out of the barracks and looked along the street. He saw no one. He walked to the armory. The soldier at the front desk looked confused when he walked in. 

“You haven't turned in your equipment yet?” 

“I had the shits after the mission,” he said. He took off his equipment and sat it on the counter. The solider wrote his excuse on her chart. 

“That happens to a lot of people,” she said. 

“Do you know where to get food at this time of night?” The solider laughed at him. 

“Should you be eating?” 

“I'm completely empty.” She then visibly turned a little green. She swallowed and looked a the clock. 

“Well, the mess hall will be serving late dinner for the shift change in about thirty minutes,” she said. Levi turned and left. 

The moon was bright but not full. Levi walked with purpose. Walking alone was difficult for him to tolerate. It's not as if he felt unsafe, but the hollow sound of his solitary boots was unsettling. The windows of the officers' quarters were all dark. He expected some burning candles at this hour, but there were none. He could see Erwin's window was open, and Erwin was sitting in it smoking again. 

“Levi?” Erwin dropped his cigarette and it fell all the way to the ground. “Damn.” Erwin stood from the window with a heavy sigh.

Levi walked over to the side of the building and looked for the cigarette. It had gone out when it fell, and it was almost impossible to see. Levi stepped to the side to let the moonlight shine in front of him. The white paper contrasted against the black dirt. Levi picked it up and inspected it. Some of the tobacco had fallen out. 

Erwin came out of the front door, and Levi was standing there waiting for him. Levi held out the cigarette. 

“Some of the tobacco fell out, but it should still be good,” he said. 

“Thank you,” Erwin took it gently from Levi's hand and inspected it. “There's barely any dirt on it.” Erwin smiled. “I thought you were going to sleep, Levi.” 

“I did sleep,” he said. Erwin's brow furrowed. 

“How long?” 

“Really long. Five hours,” Levi said. “I'm about to go get some food.”

“The food in the mess hall at this hour is really bad, Levi.” 

“Why?” 

“Because it's been sitting out from first dinner,” Erwin said. Levi made a face. 

“Disgusting,” Levi said and rubbed his forehead. “I can wait until morning.”

“I have half of a sandwich left from one of the civilian shops. Do you want it?” 

“You're not going to eat it?” 

“I ate one and a half earlier. I thought I would want it later, but I don't think so. This is my last cigarette before I go to bed, and I normally don't eat after this.” 

“I'll take it,” Levi said. 

“Come on,” Erwin walked back inside, and closed the door quietly behind Levi. They walked up to Erwin's room. There were a few candles lighting the hallway.

“Why do they have candles lit?” 

“In case someone needs to get up at night,” Erwin said. “This building doesn't have as many windows as the barracks.” He opened the door to his room and went directly back to the window. He lit a match and held it to the end of the cigarette. When he took a drag and released the smoke from his lungs, he sighed. “Thank you for saving my cigarette, Levi.” Levi sat down in Erwin's chair. 

“Is this the sandwich?” There was an large object wrapped in a towel on the table next to the chair. 

“Yes. Help yourself.” Levi unwrapped it, and was surprised that the sandwich looked so hearty. The cheese had only slightly melted. There was a tobacco ration card next to the sandwich. Erwin was on his last stamp. 

“You ate an entire one and a half of these?” Levi looked up at Erwin. 

“Try a bite and see if you don't eat the whole thing.” Levi inspected the sandwich. 

It had been cut in half. There were no bite marks on the open end of the bread. He took a bite. The vegetables were so fresh they crunched, and the cheese melted in his mouth. Levi chewed and opened the bread to take a better look at the ingredients. 

“Is that mustard?” he asked. 

“Mmhmm,” Erwin smiled and blew his smoke out of the window. “They have mayonnaise there too. I'll take you sometime.” 

“What kind of cheese is that?”

“Butter cheese,” Erwin said. They sat in silence while Levi ate. Levi began eating quickly, but he slowed down as he felt less hungry. He wanted to eat the whole thing, but it seemed too big.

“So you spend your money on food mostly?” Levi asked this between bites, but didn't wait long before he began biting and chewing again. 

“Cigarettes are rationed so I fill my tin once a week. I drink occasionally, but not as much as some people do,” Erwin said. He looked at the stub of cigarette that was left. “I don't buy many clothes.” 

“How do others spend their money?” Levi wrapped the very little of the sandwich that was left and sat it back on the table. 

“I think a lot of them send it home to their families. Some of them are married, and their spouses and children need money. It's not much, but it could probably fully sustain a family in the outer parts of Wall Maria. I think some of them hoard it.” 

“For the Underground, any money that you don't have to swindle is a lot of money.” 

“I know enough about the Underground to navigate it, but I don't know much about the people who live there.” 

“I limited myself to very few people.” 

“Why?” Erwin put his cigarette out in the ashtray and looked up at the moon. 

“Most of them can only talk about the surface. Many of them only talked about how badly they wanted to be here, and instead they remain hopeless.” Erwin looked over at Levi. 

“You can't finish the whole thing?”

“No.” Levi stood. 

“I can't sleep,” Erwin said. “I tried earlier.” Erwin looked back out at the moon. “The night after an expedition always seems to last longer.” 

“I thought you would be tired.” 

“I want to be tired,” Erwin said. Levi didn't want to spend very much time with Erwin right now. However, he didn't want to go back the barracks yet either. He thought about going to the training field, but it wouldn't be lit. He would have to work by moonlight. 

“Do you have any water?” 

“Downstairs in the kitchen. Do you want some?” Erwin's voice seemed to be a bit more hopeful. 

“Yes.” 

“I'll go get it.” Erwin crushed his cigarette in the ash tray. Erwin left the window and walked out of the room. Levi sat back down and waited in the chair. He considered leaving while Erwin was gone. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go back to the barracks and sit in bed a while. He didn't have long enough to consider it before Erwin was back with a tray that held a water pitcher and two cups. “I was getting thirsty too.” 

“We've certainly had enough water today though,” Levi said. “Rain water tastes pretty good.” 

“It does. When it rains here, it doesn't taste very good, but beyond the walls it tastes great. Everything is different out there.” Erwin poured both of them a cup of water. He took his cup and went back to sitting in the window sill. 

“Erwin, I want to ask you something.” 

“What?” 

“Why would it be bad if someone saw me here now?” Levi drank some of his water. 

“You're a man from the barracks in an officers' room at a strange hour. There are many things that could be derived from that.” 

“You mean someone would think that we're fucking?” Erwin choked on his water. He cleared his throat. 

“Well, that's one possibility. The biggest problem with that is fraternization.” 

“You mean the biggest problem with that scenario is not that we are both men?” 

Erwin shrugged. 

 

“For some, that would be a problem yes. It's probably more frowned upon in the Military Police division though.” 

“What do you mean?” Levi prodded. Erwin raised an eyebrow in question. “In the Underground, most of the time people don't bother being married. Also, relationships aren't always between a man and a woman.” 

“You mean people are openly same sex down there?” Erwin was shocked. He had never heard that about the Underground before. 

“There's nothing to be open about if there's nothing hidden in the first place.” Erwin didn't seem to understand. “I had heard that up here same sex is taboo, but earlier I saw two men in the same bed in the barracks.” 

“They must have been drunk.” 

“I don't think so,” Levi insisted. Erwin sat straight up and prepared to explain. 

“There are multiple levels of openness on the surface. The Wallists, which you have not yet encountered but probably know of, worship the Walls. They believe that God made them. They also believe, and have spread the message, that in order for us to be successful we have to procreate. That makes a lot of sense to a lot of people,” Erwin took another drink of his water. “Even though we have limited space, many people are still having as many children as they can afford.” 

“Why?” 

“I honestly believe that they want to make more soldiers. We are the hope for the future. Parents don't want their children to die, but they aren't sure that they will live long enough to see that happen.” Erwin stopped talking for a minute, and Levi didn't push him. He didn't have to ask about Erwin's family because he recognized that look. “So many only have one or two children, but they are continuing the human race. For that to happen, there has to be a man and woman involved. For civilians, it's almost impossible to be same sex anywhere except for certain parts within the walls. They group together and make their own small communities, but they have to be almost completely self-sufficient because some may not agree to trade with them.” 

“And in the military?” 

“In the military, it's a little different. The Survey Corps is the most lenient. They don't expect us to live very long, and we're not under so much pressure to have children. We also have a lot of eccentric people that join this section of the military. The Military Police Regiment is held to a higher standard, and I believe they do feel some pressure to have children. The Garrison is probably the most family friendly group because they live close to home.” 

“Are people joining the Survey Corps to participate in same sex?” 

“I don't think so,” Erwin said. “There are many different types of people that join us, but they all have a similar motivation. They want to fight Titans.” 

“So what I saw tonight isn't very out of the ordinary,” Levi said. Isabel was right. The surface demands more children. 

“It's a little risky. They could get into trouble if they were caught having sex. If they're just sleeping next to each other, it doesn't matter so much. Did you know their names?” 

“No,” Levi said. 

“Did you know very many same sex people in the Underground?” 

“A few.” 

“So you literally have no prejudice against them?” 

“No,” Levi said. Erwin body language relaxed. Levi wondered why, and suspected that he knew. It was a bit surprising. “I see nothing wrong with people needing companionship, Erwin.” Erwin didn't say anything at first. 

“I don't know when I'm going to die,” Erwin said. “So I don't feel like it's fair to leave someone behind who wouldn't understand.” 

“It's not fair,” Levi said. Erwin rested his head on the wall behind him. 

“You're the only person alive who knows, Levi.” 

“I don't know what you're talking about, Erwin.” 

“No, I want you to know.” He looked down at Levi. “I think if you know that I won't care if other people know.” 

“Why?” 

“Because you'll out live them all, Levi,” He said with a smile. 

“Then tell me.” 

“What?” 

“Say it out loud. Say that you like dick, Erwin.” Erwin laughed out loud and nodded. 

“You're right,” Erwin said with a laugh. “I prefer men over women.” Levi hadn't heard Erwin laugh before. It was a bit strange.

“That's fine,” Levi said. He drank all of the water in his cup. The conversation was heavy, and it didn't go in the direction he thought it would. It suddenly became very unpredictable. 

“Levi?” 

“Yeah?” 

“What do you like?” Erwin tilted his head. Levi felt sweat break out across his hairline. 

“I like,” he paused and thought about it. He didn't know how to say it. “I like tall people,” he said finally. 

“You mean,” Erwin stopped talking and thought about it. “Do you literally mean that you can find anyone who is taller than you sexually attractive?” 

“No,” Levi said. “Not just anyone.” 

“Then who?” 

“Really tall people. Much taller than me.” Erwin still looked confused. 

“So a man or a woman that is much taller than you?” 

“Well,” Levi swallowed and rolled his eyes. Erwin felt like he was prying too much. “There was a woman.”

“How tall was she?” 

“Taller than you,” Levi said. Erwin whistled. 

“Her legs must have stretched for days.” 

“They did.” Levi looked at Erwin's legs. 

“I've never been with a woman before,” Erwin said. 

“And I have never fucked a man before,” Levi sank back into the chair. He felt more comfortable now. 

“I fell in love with a woman before though,” Erwin said. He looked around for his tin of cigarettes. Erwin picked up his tin, pulled out another cigarette and lit it. 

“But you didn't pursue her?”

“I did for a while. She's very beautiful, and she was fascinated by Titan research.” 

“So what happened to her?” 

“She's married now.” 

“She chose someone over you?” Levi drank some more water. 

“I chose Titans over her,” Erwin said. 

“That wasn't very smart.” 

“Yeah. I guess not. Like I said, I just didn't think she would understand.” 

“But you said she was interested in your work,” Levi said.

“Being interested in something you've never seen and being comfortable with your spouse dying for a cause are two different things.” 

“True,” Levi said. “You should really try to sleep, Erwin. There are still a few hours before daylight.” Erwin dragged on his cigarette and exhaled smoke.

“But what will you do, Levi?” 

“I was thinking about going to the training field. The moon might be bright enough for me to do some drills.” Erwin leaned out of the window and looked at the sky. 

“Except it's about to rain,” he said. Levi shrugged. Erwin looked at him and stared for a while. 

“What?” Levi snapped. 

“If you aren't going to rest on your days off, I can find something for you to do.” 

“I told you if you needed help I would be available.” 

“Then there's something I'd like to tell you.” Erwin dragged on his cigarette. He turned and fully faced Levi. “I'm going to be Commander one day, Levi. I want you to follow me as closely as you can. By the time I become a Commander, I want to promote you to my Captain and use your skills for my own purposes.” 

“I can do that,” Levi said quickly. Erwin was a little surprised that Levi didn't hesitate. 

“So you'll have to stay alive so that I can count on you,” Erwin said. 

“Yeah,” Levi said. He shrugged. Erwin was confused at Levi's nonchalant behavior. He was so detached. “I think I'll go do some PT. I shouldn't need light for that.” Levi stood from the chair. “Get some sleep, Erwin. Tomorrow is going to be shitty.” Levi left the room. 

“I know,” Erwin said to an empty room. He dreaded the mission report so much.


End file.
